Different types of images are known. An image may comprise, for example, a photograph of a target. The image may present a target such as a scenery, an object, or one or more living subjects such as one or more persons or animals. An image may also comprise a picture of a graphical or textual presentation and so on.
In addition to the conventional way of storing and presenting images on photographic paper or similar, image data can also be stored as digitised data in an appropriate data storage means such as in a hard disc of a computer or in a CD (compact disc). The image can then presented to a viewer by displaying the image on a display of a user equipment based on the image data. Such a user equipment typically comprises display means for displaying the image. Examples of possible user equipment for displaying images based on image data comprise various computers (both fixed and portable computers) and other user devices or equipment adapted to be able to display images based on image data.
The image data may be generated by the same user equipment by which it is displayed or by another equipment. The image data may be stored in memory means of the user equipment. The image data may also be stored in a remote data storage. It is also possible to transport the image data from the remote storage to the user equipment by means of appropriate communication media, such as over a data communication network or by means of a data carrier. If the user equipment is not directly an element of the data network, a data communication media is required between the data network and the user equipment.
The transmission of data between the data network and the user equipment may be accomplished over a wireless interface. Arrangements utilising mobile user equipment and wireless interfaces for the transportation and presentation of images may be referred to by term ‘mobile visual communication’. The mobile visual communication can be understood as a technology that enables a mobile user to send and receive images e.g. by using some proprietary method or via a multimedia messaging system (MMS) gateway.
A still image itself does not tell anything else than what was captured in the image when it was taken. Thus the image may not always be sufficiently informative to describe all desired information associated with the image. The image itself may not describe enough about e.g. the context of the target. When an image is transported to a recipient, it may also be desired to be able to mediate additional information associated with the image. For example, some users may wish to transmits additional information regarding the context of the image, such as the temperature at the location of the image, noises surrounding the target, importance of the image, excitement associated with the situation that is presented by the image and so on.
A prior art solution to present additional information has been addition of informative text within or aside the image area. Textual information may also have been contained in the name of the image or the textual information may have been transported as a separate text/description file. However, text information embedded in the picture may use a substantial area of the display screen or otherwise disturb the image. This is an disadvantage especially with the display screen of mobile user equipment, since the display screen thereof has typically a substantially small size. In addition, reading and understanding the text messages requires attention and thus the solutions based on textual messages typically require the user to perceive and process the text in his brain.
In addition, the recipient of the image may wish to view the image or e.g. an MMS message immediately after he/she becomes aware that the reception of image data has commenced. However, downloading of all image data that associates with the image may take a while, especially if the transportation occurs over one or more wireless interfaces.